The Chaser: Hamster Wheel bows out on season low
The Chaser: Hamster Wheel slumped to its lowest rating for the season in its final episode last night.
The news and political satire show rated 606,000 and was 17th in total viewers across the five city metro market, according to preliminary overnight ratings from OzTAM.
The finale is substantially down on last year’s finale, which rated 950,000. However last season’s final would have benefited from a strong lead in, the final episode ever of Spicks n Specks, which rated with 1.6m.
Across this season’s eight weeks, the show rated an average 750,000 preliminary ratings viewers, with a notable drop when the show’s lead-in program Gruen Planet finished in late October.
The Chaser: Hamster Wheel debuted this year rating 784,000, down on last year’s debut of 857,000.
Elsewhere Last night’s highest rating show was The Force – Behind the line, which rated 1.166m total viewers for Seven, followed by Highway Patrol 1.125m.
Seven also won the 8.30-9.30pm time slot with Dynamo: Magician Impossible, rating 768,000 total viewers. The program is the second magician show Seven has aired recently, with Australia’s Got Talent’s Cosentino getting his own special in September, which rated 1.28m total viewers.
Dynamo: Magician Impossible beat Nine’s Big Fat Gypsy Weddings, and Ten’s The Good Wife which rated 548,000 total viewers.
Also at 8.30pm was ABC1’s A Moody Christmas which improved on last week’s 592,000 to rate 616,000, followed by The Hamster Wheel.
Wednesday’s top TV shows:
1. The Force Seven 1.166
2. Highway Patrol Seven 1.125
3. Seven News Seven 1.109
4. ABC News ABC 0.992
5. Nine News Nine 0.986
6. Today Tonight Seven 0.965
7. Home and Away Seven 0.956
8. A Current Affair Nine 0.919
9. Dynamo: Magician Impossible Seven 0.768
10. 7:30 ABC 0.745
11. QI ABC 0.720
12. The Big Bang Theory Nine 0.685
13. Hot Property Nine 0.667
14. Big Fat Gypsy Weddings Nine 0.653
15. A Moody Christmas ABC 0.616
Wednesday’s channel share:
Seven: 22.9%
Nine: 17.8%
Ten: 13.7%
ABC1: 13.6%
SBS1: 4.1%
7mate: 4.1%
7TWO: 4.0%
Gem: 3.9%
GO!: 3.8%
Eleven: 3.4%
ABC2: 2.8%
One: 2.3%
SBS2: 1.5%
ABC3: 1.3%
ABC News 24: 0.8%
Ratings data is copyright OzTAM and may not be reproduced, published or communicated without the prior written consent of OzTAM.
What a damnation that the best and most accessible Aussie comedy in yonks, A Moody Christmas, has about half the viewership of lazy, reality dross such as The Force – Behind The Line or Highway Patrol.
User ID not verified.
I always watch The Hamster Wheel on iView anyway…love the show though!
User ID not verified.
I’ve heard good things about Moody Christmas but I’ve just stopped watching ABC on Wednesday night. We just watch downloads now on a little media box now most nights of the week. The networks really need top quality lineups of new programming to make me sit through commercials or suffer the inconvenience of broadcast television.
User ID not verified.
Totally agree Matt A Moody Christmas would have to be the best Australian Comedy in years.
User ID not verified.
Never really liked the Hamster Wheel as much as the Chasers War…not enough humour and fun, more like Media Watch with a few odd jokes thrown in
User ID not verified.
I loved it therefore am surprised it wasn’t massively popular as my taste should be representative of everyone
User ID not verified.
@Shamma: Upvote
User ID not verified.
I forgot it was on.
That’s what I hate about ‘live’ TV. I rarely watch anything I can’t IQ anymore.
User ID not verified.
The Chaser ‘boys’ are getting a mite predictable, that’s the problem.
User ID not verified.
Robbo, agree entirely with your comments. People playing pranks on others is supposed to be clever and funny?
Billy C-We just watch downloads now on a little media box now most nights of the week. (how do you do that?)
User ID not verified.
Chaser last night was good quality again (although the incredible hulk did go on a little toooo long) and i think has been a good series. I think that the ABC seem to have dropped its promotion back further which will have affected the numbers i imagine.
Moody Xmas has been a fantastic surprise, well written and performed. the ABC need to re-run and promote the hell out of it.
User ID not verified.
A Moody Christmas is top quality. I wish ABC was able to promote it properly as it really should be hitting the 1 mill mark. I love it. Best comedy in years.
User ID not verified.
The Chaser have been boring for several series, and the way they make fun of innocent people is just cheap comedy. OK, maybe they don’t now as it’s childish humour made me turn off. Compare that to The Revolution Will Be Televised on the BBC, funny, making fun of those in power and blurring faces of people on the street… it’s more adult humour. Anyway, whenever the Chaser are on it’s a great opportunity to catch up on BBC programmes or just switch the TV off.
User ID not verified.
I suspect a big part of the problem is reflected in these comments: The Hamster Wheel was more a media satire than the ambush pranks of War on Everything, and yet they’re still a bit typecast. I don’t think it helped that the first season was fairly mediocre; for what it’s worth I think the second season had a better strike rate.
User ID not verified.